Two's Company, Three's A Party
by FoulkseyDarkRose
Summary: When no-one understands what she's going through, Elena turns to an unexpected vampire for aid. Then the unthinkable happens. Elena Katherine x Damon. A stand alone story, with some references to events from the show.
1. Chapter 1

Dear Diary,

The only sounds I could hear were my ragged breathing and displaced gravel from under my shoes as I walked down the road towards home. It was pretty unnerving since normally this road would be full of friday-crazy people, rushing home after the long week. But it was empty. Not a single soul in sight.

Anyway, I still had the gravel to kick, and breaths to count. Even that was entertaining because it was hard to distinguish each individual exhale from the last. It was so cold. My teeth were chattering like there were was no tomorrow, which better come fast because Saturday is my favourite day. I should be able to feel the cold, but lately my body seemed to be rejecting the change from human to..vampire.

The hairs on my arms were stood up, making the sleeves of my blood stained grey hoody uncomfortable. Damn you, Primark sale! Caroline always warned me not to buy a substantial amount of clothes from Primark.

"They never last." she had said not two hours ago, "You'd better go to New Look, especially with your height." I scoffed. My height? Cheap coming from stretched vampire. I'll have you know that 5 foot 5 is pretty normal for a seventeen year old girl, but you don't say it to said girl's face. It's basic social etiquette, especially now that I would never grow again...

Anyway, back to the walking. God, sorry, my diary writing makes it sounds as though my street is a mile long. Its not even that far- although I was absurdly frozen so it felt like it was. Oh and it was raining, did i forget to mention this little mishap? Just layering up on the crappy day i already had. Being an average girl in senior year is shit. Being a vampire doppelgänger senior year girl was crap -to be honest. On top of the stress of how you look and school work... Triple shits. No, sorry.

Mega-shit as Bonnie would say.

When I finally got home, Jer was making a snack for himself in the pristine kitchen at the rear of the house. Jer is my brother, but really my cousin.. There's so much you don't know!

Jer looked up when I entered the room and sighed.

"Gee, nice to see you too, Jer" I snapped at him. Then I stopped and sniffed the air, "Jer, what's that smell?" My head tilted to the side, my gums hurting. Then I realised it was just the blood on my jumper, so I took it off with my handy vamp speed before Jer noticed.

"Stefan!"Jer shouted. I don't know why because Stefan was still at school...

Surprisingly, My boyfriend walked into the room, followed by his elder brother Damon. The Salvatore brothers were normally so hostile towards each other - so something must have been really wrong. Either that or it was a surprise attack.

Damon caught my eye as he walked past me, his blue eyes glistening as we shared a private joke.

We kissed last month, whilst he, Jer and I were staying in a sleazy Motel.

Now it's awkward because a) we kind of want to rip each other's clothes off, b) Stefan was my boyfriend and Damon's brother and c) Steffy didn't know yet.

"Elena, why didn't you tell me about Barbie Klaus and you?" said Damon, leaning against the kitchen counter. I frowned,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how she shoved a bleeding girl at you today." Comprehension must have dawned on my face because Jer said: "So it's true."

"Yeh, so." I shrugged, it wasn't a big deal. Rebekah had just followed me into the girls bathroom during first period, bleeding and compelled girl in tow. I could still clearly remember how Rebekah's hair and mouth were covered in the euphoric life substance of the only human girl in the bathroom at the time. Blood.

"Elena, focus. What the hell happened?" Damon prompted me. My next words were going to make him deliciously conflicted. Hmm. I looked Stefan directly in the eye, so he would know I wasn't joking nor was being compelled.

"I killed her" I said calmly, to the three men in front of me.

They all spoke at the same time:

"Woops" that was Damon

"Why?" that was Jeremy

"No!" that was innocent Stefan.

"Why?! Because I was hungry! Anyway Katherine said-"

"Wait," Stefan interrupted me rudely, "When have you seen Katherine?"

He sounded hurt, knowing I had lied to him somehow.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! Katherine is a manipulative bitch, honey!"

I took a step back, shocked.

"'Honey', I am afraid to break it to you but Katherine is my ancestor Doppelgänger. We share the exactly the same DNA. I can see her if I want to."

Damon studied me carefully.

"Katherine." he called me, over analysing the situation. As always.

"No." I stated.

"You are not the Elena who left this morning, sis" Jeremy said, speaking for himself for a change. Good boy.

"I am who I should always have been, drinking blood has allowed me that."

"E- stop sounding like Katherine," My little human brother begged of me.

I got my phone out and dialled a number I had memorised.

"Elena, who are you calling?" Damon asked, honestly curious.

"Damon, I love your... Ah, Hello," I said when she picked up her phone.

"Please come and pick me up, they aren't being supportive at all, Kat," I asked into the phone.

The boys around my all made disappointed and hurt tones.

"You got it, Elena" Said the woman on the phone before she ended the call.

I looked at Damon, begging him to understand my need to be around someone who.. well... was exactly like me.

"Be careful, Elena," he said before kissing me lightly on my lips. I didn't have time to see Stefan's reaction to that because Katherine's car horn blared outside, and I ran for it.

Saved by the bell, how ironic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Katherine's POV**

* * *

When Elena had called me, I couldn't help but see an opportunity. This one moment could test the Salvatore brothers' love for her. And me. They had loved me first, don't forget.

Her voice had been stubborn on the phone. Since we share the same tones and pitch, I knew different. Elena Gilbert _was _scared. _Poor girl,_ I thought smugly. She had always gotten on my nerves; she stole Stefan from me.

I smirked. At last something for me to do! Life had gotten boring after scampering around Klaus for nearly a year. He's terrible at hide and seek. Elijah had been the one who was the best at chasing me - all those centuries ago - back in England. _What happened to him anyway?_

I was in my car and driving towards the Gilbert house within seconds of hanging up on my Doppelganger. No point keeping her waiting; time was of the essence if I wanted to teach her what the Salvatores' had neglected her. How to be a real vampire. Driving like the maniac I am, a plan began to surface. Maybe, just maybe, I could... No. No, Elena would never agree..._Unless_.

My lips turned up into the devilish smile that had won the hearts of many. And broken them, too. Stefan didn't call me a Manipulative Bitch last year for no reason. I may be a bitch; just not manipulative. People are extremely easy to persuade. There is a subtle difference.

As I pull up outside the typically standard American house, I honk on the horn. May as well make an entrance. My sweet dearest Mother used to say, _"Start as you mean to go on." _She influenced whatever 'celeb' had said that, my mamma had been a smart woman before she was murdered... I still had to repay Klaus for that.

Elena swung open the door and collapsed on the seat next to me.

"Drive!" She begged, sounding more dishevelled than a noble lady should. I pulled away from the house and headed towards my own. There was no point in arguing with the girl. I waited until we were on the main road to speak.

"What happened today?" I asked, channeling my mother with every word. _See that Father? I'm not such a disappointment_. Elena ignored me, choosing to stare out the window at Mystic Falls flying past. I would wait; they always...

"Nobody gets me, Katherine."

_There we go._

"What do you mean?" I mock a frown. Wow, this girl really believes I care.

"Since I'm a Doppelganger, I've had trouble with this whole change thing. They had it easy. They don't understand one bit." That was an interesting point, I decided, as Elena turned to face me. To this day I found our resemblance unnerving. Wrong. However, it did make it easier to get people to tell me what I want, when I looked like the most selfless girl in town. Shame I was so selfish, really.

"They're arguing over you," I glanced at her. When she squirmed, I continued, "Don't worry, they did with me, too. I can help you, Elena, if you will accept my previous offer."

Elena seemed to actually think about what I had said; my - _no - _her eyebrows knitted together in an ugly bugle in the middle. Note to self: never do that expression again.

"C-can you? Help me, I mean." She whispered pitifully as I pulled into my driveway with one perfect swoop. Time does a lot to one's reactions. Opening my door, and hearing her doing the same, I contemplated what I could say next. It needed to be good; powerfully good.

We walked side by side up to my home. My pace was steady and reflected my noble background. Elena's was the pitiful shuffle that accompanied many teenagers nowadays. Unsurprised, I lifted my head to admire my exquisite taste in houses. It was large, rather like the Lockwood mansion, but better. This house decorated with wooden beams and vines on the walls. It was natural, regal and had hidden depths. _Much like me_, I mused.

At that moment, I swirled back to my Doppelganger Twin. The perfect answer to her question, had entered my mind.

"I can do better, Elena. I can _save_ you."

* * *

**Elena's POV**

_"I can do better, Elena. I can save you." _

Katherine's words fluttered around my head; a bat in the dark. Something about the way she had said it made me think - made me think that she knew it was possible. Possible to save me, from myself. I had become a monster and neither Damon nor Stefan could save me now. I wasn't a Ripper or normal... I was a Petrova.

I sat on Katherine's sofa. No, sorry. A chaise lounge. She had told me off already of calling it a couch. She was the only person who could help me now.

Katherine had left me to think a few things over because she had to go out on an errand. _What_ a really old vampire needed help with, I didn't know.

She said she could help me.

I had lied to the boys, earlier. I hadn't killed that girl; she was my school friend. Heather was her name. No matter how much Rebekah had tormented me, I had managed to stop with sheer will power, somehow.

I leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees, letting my head droop down. A way to save me. From what? The Salvatore brothers'? It was more like they needed saving from me. I knew getting between the brothers was a very, very Katherine move but I couldn't help it. The instinct to love them both came to me as naturally as my heartbeat.

Not that I had one anymore; changing into a vampire had done that. Vampire..me.. the idea of it all still didn't fit together properly. Remembering the day when Stefan had thought I was going to die, when Klaus was going to sacrifice me -

_Stefan pulled a lock of hair away from my face, saying: "If it was my choice I'd want to be with you forever."_

_Something inside me cracked, angry that Damon had written my future for me. _

_**"**__I was supposed to grow up. Decide if I want to have kids and start a family. Grow old. I was supposed to have a lifetime of those choices, and now it's all gone. I don't want to be a vampire, Stefan. I never wanted to be one." I shouted. _

__But things had changed since then, right? I had grown to love Damon, surprising everyone, and becoming a vampire without a chance to say otherwise.

I wasn't really worried about myself, anymore. It was the implications on other people in my life, in Mystic Falls, who could suffer because of the forces against vampires.

Klaus would be angry at the fact that both Katherine and I, the only known living Petrova Doppelganger's, were now vampires. Unable to have offspring - their blood would have been the key to a new larger species of vampire-werewolf hybrids.

That was what scared me, still.

I could never go back to a normal life again, so I needed to make the best of this one. Katherine could help me do that. Speaking of...

_Where was Katherine?_

* * *

**Author: Yes, where is Katerina? **

**Review?:)**

**-FoulkseyDarkRose**


	3. Chapter 3

**Katherine's POV**

* * *

As soon as I had led my doppelgänger into the lounge, giving a quick guide of my maison, she started speaking. How rude. In my day, a socialite would have waited for the woman of the house to speak to them. Teenagers these days have no clue about discipline and matters.

"Katherine"

"No," I shook my head slowly whilst I made my eyes resemble sympathy, "call me Kat." That made her smile. Over time, you learn how people love to feel close to you and will do anything for you in return. Sometime, I let them. Do something in return, I mean.

"K-Kat," she stumbled over saying the unfamiliar nickname, "I feel like nothing is right anymore. I barely recognise myself in the mirror - even though I am the same! The fear of killing somebody is overbearing. At the same time, Damon tells me I will have to. At some point. Then when I pluck up the courage -"

"Steffy butts in."

She winces at my pet name for her boyfriend. _Woops, aha._

_"Stefan _tells me I should feed on animals. But just thinking about eating bunnies is just... gross." Elena pulls a face like she was eating garlic raw or something. I nearly laugh, she looks so funny.

"They are both wrong, E. I live off anything I feel like. Frat boys? Check. Bears? Check. It's all personal preference." Her chest heaves as though relaxing a massive weight. I know the feeling. It's almost as nice as when a plan falls into place - but not quite. The girl should have asked me in the first place, not the Salvatore boys. My mumma used to say that when in doubt, ask your elders. Did I mention she was very wise?

"Thank god. Ever since I rejected Damon's blood -"

"You blood shared with Damon." I deadpan. Just as I started to relate to her, this girl got on my nerves. I hated the very thought of her being with Stefan. She had to take it a step further than I've ever gotten with anybody; blood sharing is a big deal. Damon knew that. I had never done it. Well, apart from... _Shut up, _I told myself as though anyone could hear.

"Y-yes but that was before I could try any other types. I felt scared and he helped me," she knocked the subject away with a flick of her straight and dull hair, "Anyway, something inside me just wants to break out. I don't know. Even since I lost my mother I've felt like.."

_Block her out, Kat. _I stopped listening. Afraid that she would talk about losing her family. A stab of pity ran though my veins. Klaus had killed my entire immediate family when I had disobeyed him. Anger and horror had made me trust my instincts and run at the age of eighteen to the New World of the Americas. I had killed Elena's aunty... Gemma? Jenna? Jenna.

Aunt Jenna was dead the moment I gave her and Elena up to Klaus in return for my momentary freedom from his wrath. But damn Elena didn't die properly after the ritual and now we were both slaves of Klaus. Unless we ran far, far away.

"... I feel like a little teenager again, you know. I'm eighteen forever now. I have no idea who I am, want I like or who I like!" The poor girl surprised me when she busted out a tsunami of tears.

Jumping up with my vamp speed, I gripped her in a hug. Such a simple gesture, yet I wished someone had been there to give me as such.

"Shh," I cooed smoothly, "You're still a teenager, Elena. Insecurities and fears you had before are now heightened because of your vampirism. All we can do is kick it in the ass and show it who's the bitch."

She smirked reluctantly, mirroring myself perfectly.

"But there is so much more," she continued which made her frown return, "about the Salvatores', my brother, my friends, my ancestors and family.. what about those too, Katherine?"

I pretended to look at the clock on the grand mantlepiece opposite our Doppelganger hug-fest.

"I'm sorry, E. I have an a-appointment," I winced visibly at how transparent this lie was, ".. in the next town over. Write in your diary, or something. See you soon okay?" I shouted back at her, practically running out the door.

If I had looked back, I would have seen her tears halt and her pick up a pen.

* * *

Now, I sat in my car for the second time today. Elena and I needed to leave Mystic Falls and soon. Klaus would still be after us, if our blood might still work for the new Hybrid spices. I had lied. Even had witches to lie for me after I threatened to end the Bennet bloodline. Witches were so easy to play with. Like special puppets. Human doppelgänger blood needed for the change, and only human? It was untrue. We had no idea.

I realised I had left Elena in my house; alone so she could figure her mess out. The truth was that as she was telling me her feelings, I was ridiculously reminded of a younger and kinder me who vaguely resembled Elena Gilbert. Yes, surprisingly I was once..._nice_.

Shivering, I tug my knitted jumper around my slender body as my phone begins to ring. Hoping to distract myself, I may have clicked accept without even thinking nor checking the caller ID. Magic modern technology, mm.

"Hello, Bitch number one, at your service," I purred into the phone. _At least I found something to do and not listen to my damn great-infinity-daughter moan about her damn life. _Note to self: I needed to start writing this stuff down, I was a genius. And apparently feeling a tad better.

"Sorry, but I thought I was Bitch Number One?" Replied a voice I thought I would never hear again. The ghost of a smirk vanished completely without a trace. If I wasn't already dead I probably would have had a heart attack.

_Deep breaths, Kitty. _

"T-Tatia." I stumbled over her name, having not said it for years. Honestly, just saying her name then caused my hairs to jump on end. I slapped my forehead. Of course, we have the same voice. Silly, foolish mistake.

"Katharina."

_Crap._


	4. Chapter 4

**Elena's POV**

* * *

I grew bored waiting for Kat to come back, so I got my phone from my bag and listened to some music. Just as I found a new song by _Candice Accola'_s on YouTube, I smiled. Life wasn't as bad as it seemed. Right? I was going to be okay. In this good mood, I lit a fire under the large ivry mantlepiece on the wall opposite the door and the sofa. Then, after a few awkward moments of trying to get it to light, re-crossed the room and fell back on the sofa next to my forgotten phone.

The warmth of the flames radiated my body; seeping into every tense nerve in my body. My eyes glued themselves to the jumping flames of red and golds. I shut my eyes and just lay on the comfortable, purple velvet couch. It was peaceful and I didn't even think about anything. I just let go. Katherine Pierce came home just as I had - _well - _I had fallen asleep. But that's just a form of being extremely calmed down.

"That's really irresponsible, Elena," Katherine said, jolting me awake. I looked up at her, feeling groggy on my hair and skin. I didn't even want to think about what I looked like. My ancestor was leant against the oversized wooden doorway above my head, looking refreshed and _clean_. Envious, I didn't bother to move. All those weeks of not sleeping properly had caught up with me. Remaining by the fire seemed like a really great idea.

"Wha-," I yawned embarrassingly wide,"What is?"

"Sleeping alone beside the fire-place." She scowled, sounding very much unlike herself. I knew that under normal circumstances Katherine would laugh at my ratty appearance and taunt me with ideas of burning myself as I slept; or something. Not actually telling her off like a mother hen, like she was now.

"You...okay, Katherine?," I say slowly. My mouth was still half asleep and felt disgusting. "You don't seem... You left really fast." The woman looked vaguely surprised. She moved her head to the side as though she was seeing right through me.

"Did she? How rude of her." She judged herself in the third person.

I looked at her funny, then, as I wondered what was wrong with her. I had talked about family before she left for an appointment.. _Oh_. She had no family. Katherine had told me once, in return for blood when she needed it badly, that her family had shunned her. An illegitimate daughter had caused her father to send her packing to England. She never saw her daughter again.

"Oh god, Katherine. I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking earlier. It was tactless to bring up my family -" I gushed. Katherine held up her hand. I stuttered myself into silence, feeling stupid as I smiled at her meekly. I sat up straight and fully took her in. Only now did I notice that she had changed her clothes and had a hair cut. When I was about the comment on these alterations, something flashed in the corner of my eye.

My phone. I grabbed it, casually as if to check the time. The screen told me I had one missed call off Katherine... from one minute ago. Something inside me felt revolted and my brain tumbled into a hot mess. This wasn't making any sense. Katherine didn't take her phone out once; we had talked for longer than a minute. And my phone was rarely ever wrong with time...

I looked up at her as my phone started to buzz rapidly. It mirrored my heart rate: Erratic. Scared. Katherine was calling me again yet Katherine was in front of me, her hands free of any phone whatsoever.

"Who are you?" I managed to whisper around my trembling lips when Katherine Pierce came running in with her vampire speed from the other door, the one beside the fire-place. After I took in her appearance, I stared at the imposter. it - _she_ - who smirked amusedly.

"Get. Out." The real Katherine set through her bared fangs as she came to my side. The other woman watched us. Her expression betraying herself. She looked...lonely as she watched us move to protect each other. Her look disappeared as soon as it came. She glared at Kat.

"That is no way to talk to your elder, is it Katerina?" Katherine looked at me with _fear _in the eyes which we both possessed. The woman scared her.. this other doppelgänger. Since when was Katherine scared of anything? This woman's appearance must have been bad news.

I grasped Kat's hand to reassure myself. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the woman who I once hated to face the other unknown replica of myself. The one who was watching me with a hungry and conflicted look on _our _face.

"My name is Tatiana, my child." She told me, stepping towards us and gesturing to the sofa, "Please sit down." Katherine and I obeyed simultaneously as though pulled down like puppets on a string. The woman began to circle the sofa, predator to prey style. I swallowed down a whimper. I needed to be strong. For me and Katherine.

"Why are you here, Tatia? I haven't seen you since I first turned." Katherine said with a slight tone of aggression in her voice. I had never heard my voice sound like that before. Being a doppelgänger meant I could see myself as if I had a different personality.

"Yeah. Elijah has never mentioned ano-" I began only to be cut off once again by Tatia. Her face looked heartbroken, shattered at the mention of Elijah Mickaelson's name. There was obviously unfinished business there, I decided.

"Elijah? He is in Mystic Falls?"

"Yeah, the whole family are." I answered her. Tatia whimpered like I had nearly done earlier.

"No. I do not believe you."

"You should," Katherine said, regaining her attention. I sighed with relief as those piercing eyes left my face.

"Be quiet, Katerina." She ordered cooly, to which Katherine was put-out. She obeyed with a defiant pout. I looked back at Tatia. Who the hell was this woman?

"Tatia, why have I never heard of you?" I asked carefully. Being killed by a copy of myself for offending her didn't seem like a good way to die. I needed walk on egg shells around her, I decided as Tatia seemed to contemplate my appearance. Her gaze was penetrating my very soul. No one has ever done that, apart from Damon, when he told me he loved me. A strange connection, but it was true.

"You are new to vampirism, are you not Elena Petrova?" She assumed correctly. I shuddered at the name Petrova. That only reminded me of Klaus, and his hunger for my death last year in that stupid sacrifice. I had tried to block out what he had whispered to me before he had sucked the life out of me, killing my biological father in the process. The name Petrova held a lot of meaning for me.

"Yes." I answered quickly, glad for a distraction from my own thoughts. My past was going to kill me one day, I knew.

"Who has taught you our ways?" She inquired, lowering herself to perch on the only other available seat on the other side of the fire. She looked like a painting with the light of the flames dancing on her olive skin.

"The Salvatore brother, ma'am." I told her instinctively. Tatia smiled at my reply before frowning.

"Salvatore..." She raised her brows at Katherine, she looked back at her sheepishly. I frowned at her as well. Why was she acting so out of character? It was just making this whole thing so much more unnerving.

"Yes _Salvatore_, Tatia. I'm not surprised you recognise the name. Stefan is well-known as the Ripper. And, if you do not know already, I had both brother's under my spell for nearly two hundred years." Katherine said smugly, finally being herself. The one I hated.

"Actually, Kat, that was only Damon and he hates you now." I told her cooly, hoping to mirror Tatia's tone when she ordered Katherine around. I didn't work. The other two doppelgängers laughed at me, identical giggles sounded like a happy echo.

"I see you also have captivated these Salvatore's, young one." I blushed, it wasn't like that. I was just plain old me, there was no way I could 'captivate' anyone. The brothers just... loved me. A lot. And sometimes too much. Especially Damon. I felt another pang in my heart at the thought of him, which was so wrong because I was with his brother, not him. I had not admitted it yet but I loved them both. My eyes shifted from left to right as I thought of what I could do to save the men I adored from myself.

"...Katherine and I must teach you the Petrova way of vampirism." During my monologue, I did not realise Tatia had spoken until she said that. It shocked me deeply. I looked at her and Katherine in quick succession, like watching a tennis match. Both of the same faces looked excited and amused at my reaction.

"The Petrova way?" I blundered over the question. I was still in shock, apparently. _Good to know._

"Yes." Katherine told me, tapping my hand as a reassurance. She smirked her 'I-have-a-diabolical-plan" expression in my direction. Her diabolical plans usually meant people dying, but I shoved that thought aside. For now.

"Apart from the basics of being a vampire, I will also impart my first-hand knowledge of how the Petrova Doppelganger came to be." Tatia told me, sounding more and more like an old grandmother. Which in some messed up way she actually was.

_Eurgh, _I thought, _brain overload._

_"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Katherine POV**

* * *

If you were to wonder why I came to save Elena, don't. Because I have no conception of the reason myself. Maybe it was because she is the descendant of my long-lost daughter; a daughter stripped away from me by a brutal father.

And due to the fact that Tatiana scared me for many reasons.

Sat side by side with my dishwasher doppelgänger, I listen to Tatiana tell Elena what she had told me many moons ago. How both Mikaelson brothers loved her, Elijah and Klaus, which caused a riff between the two. I can remember the story well for it has haunted me ever since I first embraced vampirism.

"Iif you happen to be on pleasant terms with my Elijah, as you seem to be, you should know how the Mikaelsons had a feud with the werewolf family in the village were we lived. Mikael wanted his family to be invincible, immune to all kinds of disease and horror from which they had feld to the paradise of the New World. And yet here they were, in the promise land, with death knocking on their doors. It was then that Ester decided to do Dark Magic, otherwise known as Expression, to turn her remaining family members into immortal beings. To live forever. Expression uses the death of a human or life force to do its dirty work as opposed to magic itself." Tatiana paused and eyed me with disappointment, "Katharina, aren't you going to offer your guests some beverages?"

"Um, yes. Yes of course." I get up and leave Tatiana to tell the story to Elena. Having heard it many times, I did not mind leaving her there. Better her than I, in any course. Sauntering to my kitchen, I retrieve the same blood-wine mixture I once drank with my friend Isobel. Elena's birth mother. Mother's of us doppelgangers seem to drop like flies. I missed Isobel, she had a lovely humour and she understood me. Not many people did. We both had to give up our daughters and live in hiding - yes, even I _the murderous bitch _needed friends.

My heel catches on a bag strap that shouldn't have been there. Tatiana's. I assume she is hoping to stay awhile - I cannot blame her at all. It's not everyday you get a chance to mould the personality and power of a doppelgänger vampire. She still scared me any due. She was powerful, even more exclusive than Klaus with her inner circle. And what's more she wants revenge on the Mikaelsons. And on me. She believes, so I think, that I stole Klaus and Elijah's love from her. It was not may fault that I looked like her nor that they had long since forgotten her.

_Be cautious,_ I warned myself.

I poured out three glasses of the wine, being careful not to shake, as I lent against my kitchen counter. Personally, I prefered male athletes blood but this ballerina blood would do in a pinch.

_Distraction. That's what I need._

This plan of mine was simple: revenge. Stefan Salvatore loved me whole heartedly, I knew, and yet he chose to be easy on himself and settle for the simpler version of me. Elena. She was like a match stick to my bonfire. Her kitten to my lioness. She was nothing. Still.. he rejects me. _Me._ Not even Damon, my replacement for Stefan when he was being too 'noble and gentlemanly', wanted me now. He had searched 145 years for me because of unforced love. Now he can barely look me in the eye. You can't play with puppies if they don't like you back.

Also, I need to kill Klaus; or his family. An eye for an eye - they say. Klaus wants Elena's blood and we both know of a cure. A cure which will save us all if I can jam it down Klaus' self-righteous throat. And who is the common denominator in all this... my! It's precious little 'Lena! What a surprise.

My hands are steady once more. A strange calmness that always accompanies a well-thought out plan fingered itself through my spindling veins. Power rushes through me and I pick up the three glasses with ease before returning to the lounge area. The fire has now began to tarnish along with my fear. The sight if a human were to walk in now would be.. euphoria. Three bronzed beauties deep in conversation drinking what seems to be red wine and all triplets. But we know better.

I hand Tatiana her drink first. She's stood by the fireplace: her sandal-shoed foot resting on my freshly painted walls, arm draped across the ivory mantlepiece, her hair pushed over one shoulder. My ancestor wears sandals, a white loose tigh-high skirt and a baggy grey jumper with the shoulders cut off. Admiring her outfit, I decide to go shopping once Elena is one of us and curtsey before sitting next to Elena once more.

I take a sip out of my glass, enjoy the feel of life flood over my tongue and place it on the coffee table before us. The remaining glass is still in my hand and I hold it in front of the eighteen year old. Thirstily, she makes a grab for it and once Elena comes into contact with her own bloody drink, her eyes become dark and veins protrude.

"My god, it's worse than I thought." I say - watching her chug down the drink in a matter of seconds. Tatiana locks identical eyes with me at the sight of our copy acting so ungraceful.

"We need to start with lesson one, obviously."she replied in her cold tone as though it were the most blatant thing since we all found out that Mikael Mikaelson was a crazed lunatic. Which it was.

"Snatch-Eat-Erase,"I honestly smile for the first time in a long time. This is my favourite part of being a vampire, you feel strength, power, influence. Like a siren in greek myths. Not that you want to meet a siren, Katherine had heard the stories. You answer their call and you are dead. At least us doppelgangers can have fun whilst -

"Damon tried to teach me that but it didn't go well."said a small voice. Elena looked up at Tatiana sheepishly before continuing. "We went to a Halloween frat party at Duke and... there was this really nasty guy there drugging girls' drinks so... I bit him. So did Damon. But then Bonnie came in and 'I realised how unlike me I was acting. I was..."

"You were?" Tatiana asked coldly once more. Jesus, you would think she was made of the coldest ice. _Aloof, ice queen alert. _

"..dirty dancing with Damon and acting like a blood slut." Elena's confession broke through my thought process.

"So, what are you then? If not a blood slut?" I demand, laughing involuntarily. There she was, this innocent girl talking about things that I do on a day-to-day basis as though it was the worst thing in the world.

"KATHARINA PETROVA. If you cannot talk like an adult, I want you to leave the room and sort out my bags." Tatiana shouted, eyes seemingly filled with fire of ice and flame as they blazed into my own. I shook my head. God, I hate it when she does that, "Now, continue child."

"It was exciting, yeh, but it didn't feel right." Elena's words became more confident towards the end of her outbreak as though she was glad to get it off her chest.

"It gets better don't you worry. Obviously Damon Salvatore has not taught you correctly. And who is this Bonnie of whom you speak?" Tatiana asked.

"A Bennet witch." I deadpan, "A descendant of Emily Bennet and Q -"

"- _don't _say her name. You may encourage her return. We need this witch on our side. Imagine the power we could have against Klaus."

"We could finally get our revenge." I smile at her, both of us ignoring Elena's furrowed brow. It was a need-to-know basis when it came to anything to do with the cure, "Anyway, where shall we go for dinner?"

"Oh, let's have a little fun first. How about you go and play with you and Elena's boys whilst I take Elena out for a bite to eat? You can pick up dinner on the way home." Tatiana picks up Elena by the arm and guides her out to the main entrance. I follow and watch her pick up her bag and open it. It's full of straws. Elena's eyes pop at the sight but I merely giggle. Tatiana: scary with a deadly sense of humor.

I righten some of Elena's clothes, they're a hot mess from all her self-pity sobbing, and pinch her cheeks before doing the same to me. It reddens your cheeks for a healthier glow; an old tradition for my vampiric 'sisters' to do back in my day, before they went out to prowl the night for their next victim. Tatiana smiles, which I note, before pulling the youngest doppelgänger out the door.

I shout after them, "Ciao! Have fun little 'Lena, watch out for werewolves and hunters."

Mentally, I try to remember where I left my straighteners from my last escapade. It's time to pay the Salvatore brothers a visit they will never forget.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. The usual excuses got in the way: school, illness, writer's block...the lot. Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter! Drop me a review if you want, I'm open to suggestions on how to improve it. **

**-FoulkseyDarkRose**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - ****_"Welcome to Mystic Falls"_**

**Elena's POV**

* * *

A cool wind had picked up by the time Tatiana and I left Katherine's house. It was now strong enough to play with our hair and cool my face slightly – even though I was a vampire all this drama had got me hot and bothered. Three doppelgängers? Seriously?! Three different women with exactly the same face as me? I still couldn't process it. I mean, when I found out about Katherine I freaked out - the dent in the roof of my old car is proof of that. But Tatiana? The thousands of years old human Tatiana who supposedly died? It was too much. Air. I was outside but needed more air. All too much - My trusty Converses slipped on the marble steps outside the door, causing me to cripple under the pressure of Tatia's grip on my upper arm.

"Come, child. You do know how to walk, do you not?" She snarled at me, whirling around with a grace neither Damon or Stefan had ever accomplished. Her expression of impatience was terrifying, like she would eat me at any moment, which was weird to say the least. Eyebrows risen, eye squinted, blood vessels swimming across , fangs out: a typical vampire face. Stefan had made it without meaning to so many times. And yet to see such a anger on my face... it was easier to think of Katherine as some kind of monster who was absolutely nothing remotely to do with me, but with Tatiana? She seemed like a mix between the two of us - both gentle and vicious. Unpredictable. Tatiana snarled, and I glared at her. It seemed that every time an old ancient took me somewhere they always pushed me around – like Damon did last summer. Straight into the lake...

"Where are you taking me?" I asked to the back of her head whilst I jogged to keep up. Silence. The elder vampire was in a rush, not even pausing by either of the cars outside Katherine's mansion. Walk it is, then. Great. Under our feet the gravel crunched, but this time it was familiar but not at all comforting; it sounded like I never thought I would think this but, I didn't want to leave Katherine. She was going to mess with the Salvatore's heads and as much as they were being overbearingly 'caring' and 'helpful' for me recently, they didn't deserve that. Hopefully, like last time, Stefan will realise it's not me immediately. Unlike Damon. He never did notice.

Tatiana broke through the ghost of a guilty-looking Damon telling me that we needed to 'talk about what happened tonight' in the hospital, by pulling on my arm to bring me next to her. She took longer strides and I looked at her legs in awe. For the first time I noticed what she was wearing – a long, floaty eyelet lace black skirt that reached her ankles. A black blouse and a dark blue denim jacket. Her wavy brunette hair was identically coloured to mine and Katherine's but it was up in a very loose bun at the base of her head. Straggly bits framing her face delicately. I almost giggled, still feeling nervous from this whole thing, at her appearance. Tatiana obviously preferred the latest fashions as opposed to the old styles of the ancient Viking time. That wasn't what made me bite my lip though, no. It was the colours. Was it part of a secret uniform for all vampires to wear dark colours? I prefer darker colours because they are practical for Virginia, which is always windy, and can keep in heat. And they look good. Where was the sign-up sheet?

Tatiana interrupted my inner joke, again, by stopping in the middle of the road. She swung around to face me, identical face-to-face, her loose hair flying away from her. The skirt creating ripples in its material dramatically. It's her version of a cape, I told myself. My teeth bit harder into my lower lip again as I watched her look solemnly at the sky.

"We have merely hours before the rise of darkness. Now tell me, Elena," The wind dragged her voice towards me. "Where is the local gathering place?"

"Oh, um. The Grille?" I looked around to see where we were. In matter of minutes, we had walked to the edge of town. Tatiana walked at a human pace to the right side of the road to put a hand on the Welcome sign. She looked at it, smirking. "What's so funny?"

Her eyes fluttered around at invisible spots on the ground before looking directly into my own eyes. I shivered. Her expression betraying her once again as her hard demise slipped for a fraction of a second. If I hadn't been watching her so intently, I probably wouldn't have noticed. She wasn't smirking, she was grimacing in a pain that was hard to fully understand, although from what I did see, I knew. My ancestor was broken inside. Trapped. She looked even worse than my reflection in the mirror on the day of Aunt Jenna's funeral.; all gaunt and alone. Black dress, black shoes, black everything..

"I-I thought I could never return to my home," She continued, breaking through memories of my past for yet another time. "To do so was insidious. If only I had known that the Mikaelson's no longer took residence here.. maybe then I would have come back sooner." I stepped forward, my hair flying behind me into twists and tangles, but I didn't care. Was this was I was going to turn out like? Katherine was already becoming this haunted, but would this fate run down the bloodline? Her gaze never left mine.

"What happened, Tatiana? There's more to the story I can tell."

"Well- No. No," She shook her head and audibly swallowed back whatever she was going to say, "Let's being your lessons, shall we?" Tatiana pushed off the sign in such a human way, it looked wrong on her body. She signalled for me to walk the road into Mystic Falls ahead of her. My legs were stiff but soon began to move me along the uneven tarmac towards my home town. Our home town. Katherine was different, she was from Bulgaria and had moved – Tatiana and I – were natives here. We had lived here for the same amount of time, and for both of us, the Mikaelson's had tainted that. Klaus had ruined her life somehow at this very point in her life.

And look at her now, I nearly turned to look back at her but stopped before I did, she was an empty shell. Alone. Scared. Trying to pretend that I couldn't hear her faint sobs from behind my back, I kept walking at a steady pace. For a thousand-year old to break at the sight of a mundane metal sign, something terrible must have happened to her in Mystic Falls all those years ago.

It was that moment that I vowed to myself that I would be different, this bloodline feud against the Mikaelsons would end with me. No one else was going to get hurt.

How wrong I was...

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been a long while since my last update. Recently had some massive exams to revise for, so unfortunately that took up [wasted] way too much of my time. _Sigh. A_nyway, now that I am free I can make sure my stories are not abandoned again. (yay!)**

**-FoulkseyDarkRose**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - "****_A Drop Of Whiskey, Or Two..._****"**

**Elena's POV**

* * *

****I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But even this shouldn't be possible. Walking into the Grille just then, it was as though I was given a clean slate. Who knew doorways could be so profound and stand for so much? Here's what I know. I am human, well, I was. Either way, the Elena I knew was never going to do what Tatiana told me. No matter who she threatened. Stefan always questioned why I try so hard to save everyone else, whilst I never questioned why everyone tried so hard to save me. The clarity I now felt hit me like a waterfall, each droplet of water purifying my corrupted brain. They always saved me because there was something worth saving. If I did this now...

I may as well be dead to them. Damon included.

"No."

"Excuse me? I do not think I quite understand."

"I said," Each word is supported by a step backwards, towards the door. And away from Tatiana. Only I know my legs shake. My arm reaches far enough to make my back click. The metal handle behind me is inches from my fingertips. Just one more second, one more word and I can escape. What was I thinking? There was no way the Old Elena would ever trust Katherine over Stefan, Damon, her family; Katherine who killed everyone in the Church in 1864, who killed Caroline when she was human, who manipulates and ticks just to get what she wants. And from what she hears, Tatiana may as well be the Evil Blood Queen of the Petrova orgy. My chest puffs up like a tiger cub learning to growl. The comparison doesn't much help my courage but the decision has been made. I repeat myself, "I said, no."

Success. Tatiana's eyelashes flicker as she surveys my body, reading and analysising something invisible to myself. Too bad she can't she through me - then she would know. One vamp-speed move and I would be out of there. But something stops me.

Tatiana starts to laugh.

It's my voice. I haven't laughed like that for... years. Not since even before my parents died. A deep, true and honest sound of childish play and joy. I recoil from the sound of it and my muscles spasm away from the coolness of the door handle; away from freedom. Images flash before my eyes. The Grille and Tatiana slip away. Reality replaced.

_Instead, I see Jeremy and Damon playing video games, pushing and cheating against eachother. Jeremy smiling. Bonnie rushing into the room and her small body obviously relaxing at the sight of us all. I can feel fingers in my hair, tenderly styling with such an expert skill that I don't even have to look to know. Caroline sits behind me on the sofa as she gossips about other cheerleaders on our squad. Bonnie joins me on the floor, where I realize I am now sat, cross-legged because my thighs are throbbing. Us girls are wearing our skimpy blood-red cheerleader outfits. Today was the day we were first able to do a human pyramid without breaking any nails. My stomach rumbles loudly and everyone in the room turns to look at me. Smiling. _

Falcon and contract hands grip my closed eyes. I can't see this. No. No. Make it stop. Someone make it stop. Please.

_"Everyone hungry? Made the famous Salvatore -" Stefan's voice rings in to us from the kitchen along with the sweet, delicious smell of..._

_"- Chilli? Oh, gimme a break, brotha." Damon snorts but pauses the game, much to Jeremy's annoyance. Well, his cursing. But it quickly stops. Everyone in the living room sneaks glances at eachother and soon they are rushing as one mass into the kitchen. They are all hungry after their hard days of work and school. I push into the make-shift queque for food in front of Bonnie, plate and fork at the ready. Everyone is silent. One by one, Stefan scoops equal portions into each bowl. When it's my turn, I sneak a glance downward and can't help but smirk. _

_"Nice, err, apron."_

_"You can read Elena," Stefan smiles. It's one of those smiles you read about in books, see in movies. The ones where you can see their smile reach into their soul. Possessing your soul. His eyes are starting to get wrinkled at the corners, but I know I love it anyway. My body leans forward and, just as the apron commands, kisses the chef. _

__Elena. Stop.

Make. It. Stop.

_"Thanks, Chef. Where's Matt?" _

_"He'll be here soon. Just helping coach pack the kit away," Tyler grumbles as he enters the room. Caroline jumps up from the kitchen table, abandoning the no-doubt succulent Chilli, to kiss his cheek. Her face sticks in a grimace when her lips retreat. He's still sweating from the football game. I laugh. _

"Elena. Elena. No."

I can't make it stop. The laughing. This is what could have been. This is what my broken, little family _would be _if it wasn't for me. It's not Tatiana laughing anymore, it's me. Me. The girl having a mental breakdown worthy of the Schizophrenic Ward. The girl quivering in the fetal position with her Doppelganger double over her, screaming. Tatiana's face is wet and cratered. She shakes me, shaking away the ghosts that dance around me.

"My poor baby, Elena. I need you. We all need you. I can't do this with just that harpy Katarina." She hissed. Her forceful hands vice grip my shoulders. I could no longer control my body. My eyes catch vague glances of a crowd around me. "You are my flesh and blood. My kin. It is only honorable we three avenge our family. Together. The Mikaelsons deserve to die a painful death and trapped forever in Purgatory. They are our family curse. An eight labor of Hercules. I need you to do this, just this once. I need you at full strengh."

I may as well have never felt that clarity a few moments before. My judgement and vision become clouded. She was right, and I was wrong. My family, the Petrovas, are cursed forever because the Original family were greedy. The witches claim to be servants of nature, keeping the balance. Where were they when we needed them? The Petrovas only had each other now. I stop shaking. I see the truth at last. Tatiana stands, a smug smile upon her taunt lips. Her tears are long since dry.

"Give me some space."Speaking loud, I address the milling crowd of worried Grille customers around me.

"Excuse me, Miss Snark. We're worried about you." A big burly guy at the outer edge of my crowd snaps. Someone forgot their coffee this morning. Or maybe I interrupted his daily coffee boost of Being A Nice Person. He has beard, a big fluffy beard. I don't like it. He could be handsome, he has somewhat of a nice face but his scowl make him ugly. And his delightful _beard_...

"I woke up this morning to learn that all of my family has been cheated. I've earned snarky."

"You were having a fit, dude." He flips a finger at me as though I was being rude. I begin to tire of him and glance at Tatiana. She raises her eyebrows like a regal queen, giving me permission to do what she had commanded earlier. This would be fun. The people in the crowd look to me with blank and bleak faces. Lambs to slaughter. They listen as I confess.

"It's about time that I accept the person that I am now and figure out a way...to start expressing myself. I used to write in a diary. That didn't work. So now, I think I'll take a leaf from the Damon Salvatore vampire hand book; get angry, make a mess and do something stupid. It sounds fun doesn't it?"

Closest to me, a woman of the inner circle squeaks. Smart one. I stand and smile sweetly. People used to say I looked like an Angel, but I prefer Avenging Angel. If what Tatiana said was true and the only way to find my inner fire was to murder a large amount of people... I am willing. My brother and I killed thousands of vampires to dispose of Kol Mikaelson. I can kill a couple of hundred people to get rid of the Mikaelson family, right?

I am a vampire.

"And I do what I want now."

I sense Tatiana acting as my shadow. It gives me strength beyond imaginable. I rock back on my heels before propelling myself through the air and into the slow, human crowd. Their rapid pattering heart beats give a musical feel to the moment. The infinite. My fangs retract. The crowd scream. A woman falls to the ground, slipping in slapper heels, and Tatiana in on her in seconds. Her fangs gleam by the flickering light of the central fire-place. Her eyes catch mine and I see nothing but ecstasy there. I want that but I have no idea what to do. Watching Tatiana's movements, I realize she resembles a jaguar. Shoulders jutted and bare, bent over slightly with legs apart. Secure. Natural. A predator. The others try to flee, squawking their ways to the doors. All attempts at loyalty to friends, family and love abandoned when faced with the prospect of death; pity. The blundering waiters and waitresses of the Grille duck behind the bar at the far end. My legs begin to take me there - blood and bourbon sounds like a luscious prospect - when I see it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a beard.

Soon, the beard does not have a body.


End file.
